Strong line-up at Queen to benefit kids

Above: Wilmington native Corky Jones will lead a performance by Allgood Music Company Friday night, headlining a benefit for children’s education at the Queen Theater.

For Wilmington native Corky Jones, the renovated Queen Theater on Market Street is almost a mirage.

He remembers what the city was like for bands before he left for Athens, Ga., and his band, Allgood Music Company, signed a major label deal in the ’90s, touring 250 dates a year.

There were few places for bands to play, and the ones the city had were bars where live music wasn’t usually the center of attention.

After visiting World Cafe Live at the Queen a while ago – the site of Friday’s Light Up the Queen Foundation fundraiser that Allgood will headline – it’s hard for him to contain his enthusiasm for the sprawling theater in the heart of his hometown.

“It’s like getting a Ferrari right when you get your driver’s license. Here’s Wilmington trying to bring back Market Street and this insane gem falls in its lap,” says Jones, whose band has not played in Delaware since the mid-90s. “You could see the Queen Theater in San Francisco or Austin, these meccas of music, and people would be thinking how lucky they have it there.

“To have it in Wilmington is almost unbelievable to me. I mean, Wilmington is where you go to form a corporation.”

Jones and the rest of Allgood, the Southern rock/jam band that co-headlined the H.O.R.D.E. Festival in 1993 with bands like Blues Traveler and Widespread Panic, will reunite after 16 years to benefit children’s music education programs organized by the foundation.

It will be a busy homecoming weekend for Jones and Allgood. On Saturday, the band will also perform at the Jam on the Brandywine music festival at the Myrick Conservation Center, near West Chester, Pa., joining local acts like Montana Wildaxe and The Cameltones. (Tickets are $10.)

Allgood will be joined by Wilmington’s Angel Band, who will perform before heading to upstate New York Saturday for a CD release show for the band’s latest album, “Shoot The Moon.” The site of the release party is not too shabby: a show at Levon Helm’s barn as part of The Band drummer’s famed Midnight Ramble. Wilmington’s New Sweden and Ben LeRoy of The Snap, who is also a member of the 12-person Light Up the Queen Foundation board, round out the bill.
The foundation still has just under $2 million to raise to complete its $25 million campaign to rebuild the Queen, but the funds from this show will go specifically to children’s programs, says Bill Taylor, executive director of the foundation.

The fundraiser is one of two that will be held annually to support the children’s programs. “We only get two shots a year,” he says.

Taylor says the money raised will go towards Bridge Sessions – interactive performances that bring students and musicians together at the Queen – and other new education and community-building programs this fall.

The foundation is also working with schools on Wilmington’s East Side to build music curriculums and bring donated instruments into the classroom.

“This is really the first time we’re taking a serious look at what happens after raising the money to fix the building,” Taylor says. “We have good corporate sponsorship and support, but we want as many people there as possible.”

IF YOU GOWhat:“Band Together For Kid’s Music,” a Light Up the Queen Foundation benefit with performances Allgood Music Company, Angel Band, New Sweden and Ben LeRoy of The SnapWhen: Friday, 7 p.m.Where: World Cafe Live at the Queen, 500 N. Market St.Cost: $50 (includes a drink voucher) or $100 (reserved seat in the balcony with a southern buffet and complimentary beer and wine)

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